4 New-Yorkaises

The critics did not like this film, and it now rates only a 5.6 for IMDB votes, but have a read of the positive comments below. My wife and I enjoyed this film. There are many meaningful parts, numerous gags and funny situations amidst the painful family life portrayed a la NYC Jewish-Italiano.

The three awards include two Golden Globes, and with Shirley MacLaine, Marcello Mastroianni, Marcia Gay Harden, and Kathy Bates, there is a lot more to this film than either the critics or voting would indicate.

It may not everyone's cup of tea, but well worth a video rental if you can appreciate the messages about family life. A good flick - go ahead and try it.

If you like the "Moonstruck" kind of film - a many-layered, multi-charactered tumble of the comic and the tragic (with plenty of shouting and raging) romping to a happy ending - you'll love this. It's packed, it's fast-moving, it's funny, it's wonderfully acted - above all, it's human. The elderly, gentle Mastroianni still charms and delights, though it's a pity they challenged his English with so many difficult lines. As a counterbalance, Shirley Maclean is a Fury again (cf. "Steel Magnolias"), to be smoothed and softened only by the friction with daughter Bibby (Kathy Bates) and the dedication of her new suitor. True, the story has its creaks and groans - what better to road to a woman's heart than to save her grandson from certain death? - but exuberance carries the day, we are swept along and are happy to rejoice with the rest of the cast in the Grand Finale. Of course, if you didn't like "Moonstruck" . . .

Some great roles for woman were written in the end of the last century such as Thelma And Louise, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, Moonstruck, and this one, slightly overlooked in that stellar company. Used People tells a wonderful tale of a widow and grandmother played by Shirley MacLaine to whom a second love comes right at the funeral of her husband.

As this Jewish family is sitting Shiva for MacLaine's husband, Marcello Mastroianni comes in, unknown and imparts a secret to MacLaine concerning her late husband.

Mastroianni intrigues her, but MacLaine's most Jewish of families is against the very idea of her keeping company with him.

There are a host of wonderful roles besides the leads and it's the mark of a great film that these characters are invested with individuality by the writers. Some great players bring said individuality to those parts.

MacLaine's two daughters, Marcia Gay Harden and Kathy Bates are as different as can be. Harden is constantly acting out with different Hollywood legends portrayed. She's a real drama queen, years later still in mourning for a child she lost. She has a great scene with her other young son Michael Branton who also been acting out some dangerous things.

Kathy Bates was the less favored daughter with a weight problem who lets MacLaine have it. Bates is sick of the indulgence given Hardenand who could blame her.

Two aged actresses from earlier days, Sylvia Sidney and Jessica Tandy have some wonderful scenes as a pair of old Jewish yentas. They quarrel but there's a bond there.

An old tune that Frank Sinatra recorded with Tommy Dorsey, The Sky Fell Down provides a great musical theme for November/November romance.

Used People is a great ensemble film and should get a lot more attention than it has gotten.

Admittedly, I LOVE films about relationships. Perhaps this is because I am a therapist.

This film is not only about finding love, but also about waking up to love that is already there. The characters grow and change in this film and if it seems uneven, this may be why. When the character of Pearl tells us early on that she never did anything she wanted in life, you doubt her ability to break away from her old life, but break away she does, carrying her mother, daughters and grandchildren with her.

This film has a happy ending, but it is not all neatly tucked away in pretty packages. If you like films that say something, try this one on for size. Films of similar flavor are "Wrestling Ernest Hemingway" "Harold and Maude" and "Moonstruck" .

I can't think of a film that had a better cast, story and acting.

I absolutely loved this film and its performances. It is about a Jewish family in 1969 Queens but as we know, human stories can be about any religion or ethnicity.